Empress Dowager Zhu

Historical Record

There is no clear record of Empress Dowager Zhu in the official histories. In the Records of the Three Kingdoms and other historical biographical material, no record of her life, deeds, or specific words and actions can be found. Therefore, it is impossible to verify from the historical sources her true identity, family background, or the role she played in historical events. Her existence seems to have been submerged in the flood of history, leaving no trace for later generations to trace. This makes her a blank figure in historical study, her true countenance and historical contribution impossible to verify.

In the Novel

In Luo Guanzhong's Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Empress Dowager Zhu, as the widow of the Wu ruler Sun Xiu, appears in the late part of the novel, her image shaped chiefly around the question of succession to the Eastern Wu throne after Sun Xiu's death ^c:12173. In the novel, before Sun Xiu died of illness, he summoned the Chancellor Puyang Xing into the palace, wishing to install the crown prince Sun Wan as ruler. However, after Sun Xiu's death, when Puyang Xing deliberated with the officials, the Left Army Commander Wan Yu and the General of the Left Zhang Bu strongly advocated installing the Marquis of Wucheng, Sun Hao, holding that Sun Wan was too young to govern alone, while Sun Hao "was discerning and decisive in talent and judgment, fit to be an emperor" ^c:12173.

Facing the divergence of opinion among the court ministers, the Chancellor Puyang Xing found it hard to decide, and so entered the palace to petition Empress Dowager Zhu. Empress Dowager Zhu's conduct here embodies her image as a widow of the inner palace, maintaining a detached attitude toward court affairs. Her reply to Puyang Xing was: "I am but a widow; what do I know of the affairs of state? You gentlemen may weigh the matter and install whomever you see fit." ^c:12173 These few brief words sketch the image of an Empress Dowager who does not interfere in court affairs and leaves the great matters of state to the decision of the ministers. She showed no attachment to power, nor any preference for a particular candidate, but devolved the right of choice entirely to the court ministers. This attitude, to some extent, also reflects the complexity of the internal power struggle within the Eastern Wu regime at the time, and the awkward position the Empress Dowager occupied within it. This image of Empress Dowager Zhu in the novel forms a sharp contrast with certain forceful, interfering empresses dowager in history, and also provides a reasonable basis of "legitimacy" for Sun Hao's accession, although this legitimacy is built upon the Empress Dowager's "non-interference." It is worth noting that the novel's depiction of Empress Dowager Zhu has no clear historical record and is entirely a product of literary creation.

Key Relationships

* Relationship with the Wu ruler Sun Xiu: Empress Dowager Zhu was the widow of the Wu ruler Sun Xiu; in the novel, her appearance is precisely occasioned by Sun Xiu's death and the resulting power vacuum and succession crisis ^c:12173. As the wife of the late emperor, she held the nominally highest status in the Eastern Wu regime, but her actual power was limited.
* Relationship with the Chancellor Puyang Xing and other court ministers: Between Empress Dowager Zhu and ministers such as Puyang Xing there was a nominal relationship of sovereign and subject. After Sun Xiu's death, on the matter of the succession the ministers had to seek her opinion to show respect and procedural legitimacy. However, Empress Dowager Zhu clearly stated that she would not interfere in court affairs and handed the right of decision to the ministers, embodying a relatively distant relationship of unequal power between her and the court ministers ^c:12173 (unique to the novel).
* Relationship with the crown prince Sun Wan and the Marquis of Wucheng, Sun Hao: Empress Dowager Zhu was the mother of the crown prince Sun Wan and the aunt of the Marquis of Wucheng, Sun Hao. On the matter of the succession, as an elder and the nominally highest decision-maker, she could have played a key role. However, she chose not to intervene, allowing Sun Hao to succeed smoothly at the urging of the court ministers, which indirectly affected the fates of these two members of the imperial family ^c:12173 (unique to the novel).

Iconic Scenes

Empress Dowager Zhu's only iconic scene in Romance of the Three Kingdoms is her response, after the death of the Wu ruler Sun Xiu, to the Chancellor Puyang Xing's petition on the question of the succession ^c:12173.

Scene description:

After the Wu ruler Sun Xiu died, Eastern Wu fell into a succession crisis. The Chancellor Puyang Xing, after deliberating with the assembled officials, was long unable to decide whether to install the crown prince Sun Wan or the Marquis of Wucheng, Sun Hao, as ruler. He finally chose to enter the palace and consult Empress Dowager Zhu. Within the inner palace, facing Puyang Xing's petition, Empress Dowager Zhu made her position clear with a single brief but forceful utterance: "I am but a widow; what do I know of the affairs of state? You gentlemen may weigh the matter and install whomever you see fit." ^c:12173 This statement is not only Empress Dowager Zhu's sole line of dialogue in the novel, but also the entire portrayal of her character. She displayed no desire for power and no interference in the great matters of state, but handed all decision-making to the ministers. This scene, though extremely brief, profoundly shapes Empress Dowager Zhu as a non-interfering, detached empress dowager, and paves the way for Sun Hao's accession. Her declaration enabled the court ministers to elevate the new ruler according to their own wishes, thereby avoiding the further political strife that interference by the Empress Dowager might have provoked. This scene is the only time Empress Dowager Zhu directly participates in the political decision-making of the state in the novel, yet her mode of participation is one of "non-participation," which makes her a singular figure ^c:12173 (unique to the novel).